Excessive Gas Use Due to a Wiring Problem With a Furnace
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Virginia
Have tenant in SFH with 3 year lease ending July. 16 Nov tenant emailed about our return to house in July. On 18 Nov. she emailed that she may move earlier. Same evening she contacted property manager with heating issue. Contractor was called and 21 Nov diagnosed and ordered parts. On 22 Nov tenant reported empty propane tank (filled 300 g on 11 Oct). leak test performed that day with no leak found. Tenant says we (landlords) should pay as it was related to heating issue. Tenant was gone for a week for the holiday so repair delayed until 4 Dec. When repair was made to the furnace - repairman found that due to faulty wiring the propane furnace was acting as primary heat rather than aux to the heat pump. Again tenant says landlord is responsible for the extra gas usage. As landlords we acted to fix the problem as soon as it was identified. Tenant claimed that the heat was not working or running constantly since the beginning of Nov, but she only notified us on 18 Nov. Tank was filled Oct 11 & ran out by 22 Nov (4 days after we were notified of problem), I suspect that the problem was of longer duration. She states that she will move and end lease asap.
Are we liable for the extra propane usage? Can she use this issue to move out early? Should we pay something towards the cost of the gas?
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
Read your lease and tell us what it says about utilities and propane.
If the lease provides that you, as landlord, will provide all propane for heating, then you have to provide all of the propane at your own expense.
If the lease provides that the tenant is responsible for the cost of all propane, the tenant may still have a claim against you based upon the improper wiring of the furnace.
If the tenant has been in residence for three years, with that term ending in July, how is it that the issue is coming up for the first time this winter?
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
Quote:
Quoting
Mr. Knowitall
Read your lease and tell us what it says about utilities and propane.
If the lease provides that you, as landlord, will provide all propane for heating, then you have to provide all of the propane at your own expense.
Lease states that tenant is responsible for all utilities.
If the lease provides that the tenant is responsible for the cost of all propane, the tenant may still have a claim against you based upon the improper wiring of the furnace.
If the tenant has been in residence for three years, with that term ending in July, how is it that the issue is coming up for the first time this winter?
There was an issue with the heat pump/AC in the summer and the thermostat was also replaced. The fault was not in the furnace wiring but rather it seems that the thermostat had been wired to draw only from the furnace not from the heatpump. I can only assume that during the repair the mistake was made and installation of the thermostat put the furnace as primary rather than the heatpump. The furnace itself is only 2 years old and worked perfectly last winter, so the fault was not in the initial installation. The tenant has stated in email that she was "without heat for a month" and that the system was "running constantly" but as I said, she did not notify us until 18 Nov and the repairman was out in 2 days. At other times, the story changed to 3 weeks and she also said "I used only minimal heat during October and didn't even turn on the heat until some time in November" Her stories always seem to change.
To clarify - the house is not without heat. There is a 2 zone system - only one unit was not working properly and 2 woodstoves.
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
And for some reason you have chosen not to tell us what the lease says about utilities....
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
I did - but lost it somehow.
The lease clearly states that the tenant is responsible for all utilities.
Actually - I see it now - for some reason it posted it up in your quoted area
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
Whatever happened to the furnace wasn't the renters problem. They paid for the fuel the first time, but due to the problem with the landlords equipment, they lost that fuel.
To move on with life, why don't you tell the tenant that you will meet them halfway with the refueling of the tank. If it takes $500 to fill, tell them you will deduct $250 from next months rent.
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
I cannot imagine using that much propane in that period of time unless this is a VERY large house and the temps have been very very cold (don't think they have yet). The average temp (obviously varies where in the state you are) is somewhere around 40-50 degrees in November.
If if it is so cold the thermostat called for heat constantly chances are the heat pump would not have kept up with the need anyway or the thermostat is defective or she is using the entire home for a large oven.
Re: Excessive Gas Use by a Tenant
Like the others, I find this very confusing. You agree that the thermostat wasn't correctly wired. You agree that the furnace had problems that you have had repaired. I hope that the furnace has been "tuned up" and is currently working well I presume that you have seen the actual bill for the propane delivery. To me it seems that you do not owe for the normal heating of the house, only for the large loss of gas. So, how much was for "normal heating"? It may be hard to figure this out. Perhaps you could assume that 50 gal was normal use and offer to pay for 250 lost gal. That may be around $600. So, negotiate.
Breaking the lease is a separate issue.